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Posted on 18 April, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
Gopal Gandhi’s comments on the CBI
The former West Bengal’s Governor deserves to be complimented for his comments on the Central Bureau of Investigation. Shri Gopal Gandhi was invited to deliver the D.P.Kohli Memorial lecture which is annually organized by the CBI. After analyzing the statutory scheme of functioning of the CBI, Mr. Gandhi linked the CBI to the dirty tricks department of the Government. This should shake the conscious of the officials of the CBI.
The agency has suffered a credibility gap in the past ten years. The CBI as an organization is substantially controlled by its directors. The directors were chosen by the Government and not by any balanced collegiums. These directors were controlled not only by the government, but even by key functionaries of the ruling party. There were several cases in which persons close to the government had to be helped. Similarly, there were cases where persons opposed to the government had to be victimized. Some of the charge sheets filed against the BJP in Rajasthan and Gujarat are unsustainable. Delhi is full of rumours these days about the disclosers made by a prominent businessman who acted as a front for many politicians and officials. These are further likely to erode the credibility of CBI since prominent names connected with the CBI are also mentioned in this regard. A full public disclosure of this information is now necessary. Everybody must be honest. Certainly the CBI officials must be more honest than the others.
The Modi Campaign
Narendra Modi was declared as BJP’s prime ministerial candidate on 13th September, 2013. Since then, he has singularly addressed 380 rallies in the country. Most of these rallies have been attended by several lakhs of people. I had initially thought that fatigue would set in after an initial enthusiasm. That does not seem to be happening. Additionally, there have been at least 300 rallies in the 3D format which he has already addressed. Another 300 are likely to be addressed by him. I do not remember if any single individual has undertaken personal campaign of this magnitude in the recent history.
The Drug Menace
Yesterday, I was addressing a public meeting at Rajasansi. The loudest cheer was reserved for a comment made against the drug addiction in the state. Enthusiastic applause came from that section of the audiences where a large number of women were seated. This explains it all. Drugs are not grown in Punjab. Narcotics are smuggled from across the border. Some indigenous drugs are cultivated in Rajasthan are also made available. There is no solution to this problem except strictest of enforcement. All drug availability must be cut out at its very source. The borders have to be completely sealed to make it impossible for anyone to smuggle drugs in the state. Even in interstate travel from other states, strict enforcement has to be undertaken. This may involve harassment of some but that is unavoidable. Narco6+ terrorism is the new form of insurgency. It should be dealt accordingly.
Posted on 17 April, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
Fair but not Vindictive
Narendra Modi, the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate, in an interview to the television news agency ANI made a significant comment. The next government will function on positive agenda and not be vindictive.
India is changing. The people are becoming restless. The aspirational class is expanding. People expect to live in a system where the quality of their life is significantly enhanced. The new generation is looking for education, jobs, housing, health care and hygiene. They want politics to ensure the delivery mechanism instead of being just a slugfest between the parties.
Under these circumstances, governments will be remembered by their performance and achievements and not by the political battles that they fought against their rivals. This is not to suggest that law must not be followed. If people have committed offences, they must be objectively investigated by independent agencies. Institutional independence and professionalism has to be ensured. Agencies must be run by men of integrity, independent of political interference. If the future government can ensure this, it would have done its bit.
Voters are not “Ullu”
With 121 Parliamentary constituencies going to poll today, almost half of India would have voted in 2014 general elections. What are the trends? The Third Front or the Federal Front is the non-starter. The Congress lags far behind. The NDA is the only combination which has a real chance of forming the government. Besides the usual emphasis on the anti-incumbency against the UPA, national mood is in favour of Narendra Modi. An issue that concerns the average Indian is who will provide a stable government. The answer to the question squarely helps the BJP and NDA. Rahul Gandhi must accept that people are angry with the Congress. They are not “Ullus” when they vote against the Congress. The prospects of defeat should not make a leader loose his graciousness. Those who vote against the Congress may have good reasons to do so. The angry voter is not a four letter word that Rahul Gandhi has chosen to describe them.
Posted on 16 April, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
The dangers of buying your own Propaganda:
It has been abundantly clear during the past several months that the Congress popularity amongst the electorate was nose diving. The more the adverse reaction of the electorate was visible, the shriller was the campaign of the Congress party. Hundreds of crores were spent from the government coffers for the Bharat Nirman advertisements. The conferment of statutory rights to people without backup financial support and administrative mechanism makes the right fictional. Yet the propaganda about the rights based approach was so large that Congress men were the only persons who were buying their propaganda.
Most Congress men believe that they were born to rule. Certainly the first family of the Congress firmly believes that. They rely on possessory rights on the “Idea of India” and the “Heart of India”. Losing claim over the “Vote of India” and consoling themselves by representing the “Heart” and “Idea” of India is only a self deception.
What after all is the “Idea of India”? It is a turn of phrase which represented the title of a book by a leading Indian political scientist. Can there be only one “Idea of India”? In an ideologically pluralistic society, every ideological combination, every social group, every economic thinker is entitled to have a vision which is his own “Idea of India”. Since the Congress party has claimed a copyright over the “Idea of India”, it needs to be reminded of what is not the “Idea of India”.
The Nehruvian vision on Jammu & Kashmir and the Himalayan blunder of 1962 were certainly not the “Ideas of India”. Losing territory to Pakistan and China during the Nehruvian regime is not my “Idea of India”. Dictatorship of Indira Gandhi during the Emergency was not my “Idea of India”, superseding the Judges in the name of a judiciary with social philosophy and censoring newspapers is not my “Idea of India. The 1984 massacre of Sikhs is not my “Idea of India”. Scandalous deals like Bofors, HDW submarine deal, bribing MPs in JMM case and the cash for vote scam, 2G spectrum scandal, coal block scandal are not my “Ideas of India”. 30% of Indians are living in poverty 67 years after independence can’t be an “Idea of India”. An India perpetually on the terrorists radar can hardly be anyone’s “Idea of India”.
Elections are about real issues not manufactured ones. The real issues are decided in the context of the current political situation. An ideological debate detached from the realities of governance is in the abstract. It will hardly help the Congress party any further.
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A query to the Captain:
One of the issues being raised in the Amritsar Parliamentary constituency relates to the levy of Property Tax. How did this levy come about? On 8th December, 2006 just before the code of conduct for the February, 2007 elections were to be announced, the Government of Punjab headed by Capt. Amarinder Singh and the Municipal Corporation of Amritsar headed by its Mayor Sunil Datti entered into a memorandum of agreement with the Govt. of India on 8th December, 2006, accepting all conditions imposed by the Congress led Government of India, for giving grants to Punjab under the Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission. A handwritten note signed by the Govt. of India, Punjab Government and the Municipal Corporation of Amritsar stated that “Subject to commitments given by the Govt. of Punjab vide the Chief Secretary’s letter No.SUDA/JNNURM/6/148 dated 7.12.2006”. This sentence was interpolated by hand in the MOU.
The letter of the Chief Secretary of Punjab dated 7th December, 2006 itself committed to the Government of India that “the Government of Punjab would modify the existing rates of user charges of water supply and sewage as well as, put in place, a new system of taxation of municipal properties latest by 30th June, 2007 in all municipalities specially those covered under JNNURM”. After taking over the Government in 2007, the SAD-BJP government deferred the implementation of this proposal by at least six years since they were an imposed.
Is it not true that this Capt. Amarinder Singh heading the Punjab Government in 2006 and Sunil Datti heading the Municipal Corporation of Amritsar, who are responsible for having initiated, committed this new system of levy of Property Tax?
Posted on 15 April, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
Congress Party’s New Slogan : “Mein Nahin Mom”
A leading news channel yesterday gave the results of their tracker opinion poll. This poll gave to the BJP 226 seats in parliament and to the NDA an absolute majority of 275 seats. This is the first opinion poll to have given an absolute majority to the NDA. I believe that this poll has captured the emerging trend. As polling date approaches closer in every phase, the groundswell becomes clearer. There are two clear trends in the groundswell, its anger against the Congress and the hope in Narendra Modi. My own view is that the actual poll always results in the front runner getting more than what is projected.
As the Congress shrinks further, its campaign has resulted in a naught. The campaign is too abstract and confused. The message is not clear. The Congress Party changed track yesterday. Rahul Gandhi led campaign and the accompanying advertisements were given a backseat. The Congress President Sonia Gandhi herself decided to lead from the front. She addressed the country by booking television time on all channels.
The desperation was clear. Speeches, interviews and press conferences of political leaders are always covered by the media. The Congress President does not have to buy television time in order to have her speech conveyed to the people. The idea was to change the principle communicator of the party from the son to the mother. This was an expression of lack of confidence in Rahul Gandhi, in as much as his speeches to the people were not working. Messages on paid television time cannot last minute change the electoral agenda. Price rise, mismanagement of the economy, corruption, dilution of the office of Prime Minister cannot be a part of either ‘Bhartiyata’ or ‘Hindustaniat’. This message will not click. The only message yesterday’s speech of Sonia Gandhi telecasted on paid television time is that Congress party’s new slogan now is “Mein Nahin Mom”.
Posted on 14 April, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
The Congress appears to be getting more and more desperate. Two national papers carry reports what is happening within the Congress. The first report suggested that the desperation was so high that in order to confine Modi, Priyanka Gandhi had agreed to contest Varanasi seat against Narendra Modi. Another paper reports that the Chief Ministers of the Congress have been told that if you cannot win seats, you will be replaced.
If both the reports are true, they only confirm how far cut off from reality the Congress has been. The Gandhis are under siege. The situation is akin to what happened to Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi in the run up to the 1977 general elections. Economic populism did not work. The family charisma has faded away. But a party which is merely a crowd around a family probably felt that the current leader in the family has not clicked. The real solution to the problem is to make Congress a more structured party. The Congress party solution is, if one incumbent in the family fails, the alternative can only be another member of the family. In an earlier write-up, I had almost predicted this. I only wish that the desperate solution of Varanasi had been actually implemented. The country now needs the myth of the other family member also to be exploded.
The problem is not with the Congress Chief Ministers. If the Congress loses, it is not because of its Chief Ministers. It is squarely because of the quality of government they ran and the non-inspirational personality of Rahul Gandhi. When the problem is within the family, why is the Congress looking for scapegoats outside?
Captain Amarinder Singh in a civilized election:
Captain Sahib has an unbeatable capacity to singularly lower the level of political discourse. In a civilized issue based election, he is a fish out of water. My advice to all my friends, supporters and well wishers in Amritsar is that we must fight this election with elements of civility, dignity and keep it issue based. An increasing desire is being witnessed in Amritsar for Narendra Modi to be the next Prime Minister. I can also smell the positive attitude of the people towards me and the issues which we are raising. We must not deviate from this agenda.
The Captain had called me an outsider. Unlike him, I have hundred per cent Majha blood in my veins. I had promised that this being my ancestral town, I will have a residential base here. I have implemented that promise. What about Captain himself ? Will the people of Amritsar have to wait for days altogether outside his Patiala palace in order to meet him?
Posted on 13 April, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
Dr.Sanjay Baru’s book ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ only confirms what the country ordinarily suspected. The Prime Minister has to take most of its decisions approved and ratified from the Congress President. All sensitive subjects have to be discussed with the person outside the government. The appointments of key officials would be regulated by 10 Janpath. Contracts such as the coal blocks allocations were allotted by the party. Even the venue for the funeral of former Prime Minister P.V.Narsimha Rao was decided on collateral considerations rather than the based on desire of the family.
In a parliamentary democracy, the party system is an essential requirement. However, the accountability in democracy is of the elected representatives and not of the party office-bearers. It is the Prime Minister and his council of Ministers, which, through the parliament are accountable to the people. Amongst various institutions which have been dwarfed in the UPA regime, the principal one was the office of the Prime Minister itself. Dr.Baru’s book confirms this. Prime Ministers are known not by the number of years they have spent in office, but by the footprints they leave behind. The Prime Ministership is not an employment. It is public service and an exercise by which the leadership is provided to the people. On the eve of relinquishing the office, Dr. Manmohan Singh must seriously introspect as to how his tenure impacted on the institution of Prime Minister. Did he have the last word on all subjects? Or is it the system of the original Communist states that was operating, where the party General Secretary was always more important than the Head of the Government.
The Facebook Meet in Town Hall:
Yesterday, the social media site Facebook organized a ‘Town Hall’ meet between me and the youth of Amritsar. The questions in the meet reflected upon the thought process of the youth of Amritsar.
There is wide spread acceptability of my vision document, particularly in relation to declaration of Amritsar as the major tourism town, improving of the infrastructure and opening up of border trade. There are three other issues of great concern which were voiced there. In the absence of the manufacturing sector expanding in the country, there are no jobs. The region has not grown as an IT hub, the drugs menace continues to grow unabated. I do believe there must be extensive skilled development programme. Language training programme, where youngsters, particularly rural youngsters, must be trained in multiple languages so that they qualify to become IT personnel. I have already written extensively on the drug menace. It will be a priority for NDA government to make India into a low cost manufacturing hub. It is only then that the manufacturing sector will expand and many more jobs in the sector will be created.
Posted on 12 April, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
Rahul Gandhi and the ‘Modi Marriage’
Why is it that Rahul Gandhi has not been able to click as a leader acceptable to this country? This is the question every Congress member must reflect upon. Rahul’s communication skills are at best modest. Let alone the average common citizen, his ability to inspire even the Congress cadre is questionable. His understanding of economy is a suspect. But latest desperation that he has displayed makes one wonder whether his level of discourse can at all be prime ministerial.
In an affidavit before the Returning Officer in Vadodra, Narendra Modi disclosed the name of his “wife”. This fact is sufficiently in public domain that Narendra Modi and the lady were made to solemnize a marriage as young children. They never lived together. Modi dedicated himself to spiritual and political activities. The lady lived with her parents, and worked as school teacher. By all accounts, the comments of lady have been extremely dignified. The requirement of filing an affidavit with the nomination form was directed by the Supreme Court as a part of the voter’s right to know facts even about the private lives of their candidates. Since the marriage was never acted upon in accordance with the requirements of the then law, Narendra Modi was earlier leaving the column regarding the name and assets of his spouse blank. It is only in September, 2013 that the Supreme Court clarified that no column of the affidavit could be left blank. Narendra Modi, therefore, made a truthful disclosure. Since when has declaration of a lawful relationship, whether acted upon or not, become a political issue?
Indian politics has an unstated code of conduct. Ordinarily, we don’t drag families and ladies into controversy. Rahul Gandhi is guilty of breaching that code. He must remember that the disturbed matrimonial relationship of a former Indian Prime Minister was never a political issue. How many current senior Congressmen are in illicit relationships and yet have paraded their wives only for photo opportunities during nominations. Surely if people have a right to know about the “legal” relationship of Modi, they also have a right to know about the illicit relationships of Congressmen. The latter is more relevant for people’s right to know about the ethics of their candidates.
However, devoid of serious political issues and understanding of those issues, Rahul Gandhi has reflected his immaturity and desperation by making the ‘Modi marriage’ as a political issue.
Posted on 11 April, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
Yesterday, several states witnessed a heavy turnout from polls. What is the message behind a larger number of people being enthused to come in to vote? In a normal election in India, polling percentage is between 50 to 60. In a disinterested election, the polling percentage has been in the 40’s. What has motivated of much higher percentage of people to come and vote in this election?
Exceedingly high poll percentage has always a method. A larger number of people come to vote when something motivates them. In the present case, it is the desire for a change which has motivated the higher vote percentage. An exceedingly high vote percentage is bad news for the Congress. The news from Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh and Jammu appears to be that in many constituencies, the Congress has been pushed to a third position. This may well be a situation in several constituencies of Odisha. The trends from UP are worse. The Congress and its allies have been pushed to the fourth position. Political parties which don’t have a strong social base and rely only on leadership charismas and traditional support, become exceedingly invulnerable in adversity.
The price rise, corruption and the non-inspirational leadership of the Congress has failed to inspire the people. The BJP campaign appears to have succeeded in both laying down the political agenda and also pushing Narendra Modi as the centre-stage personality of this election. Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi continue to have a marginal impact. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh is non-factor in this election. For us in the BJP, high poll percentage is good news; the more the merrier.
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The Captain’s fake Bravado:
Captain Amarinder Singh reacted to Dr. Subramanian Swami’s statement making very important disclosers by use of an aggressive adjective. Mindless aggression is not a logical response. Yesterday, I had advised Captain that he and his family members should authorize the appropriate government agencies to investigate the truth or otherwise of this charge. They should waive off all legal immunities and defences. That is the only way to come out clean. Why is the Captain reluctant to do so?
Posted on 10 April, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
Dr. Subramanian Swami yesterday made out a very important statement. He alleged that two key members of an important political family in Punjab had parked illegal funds abroad by registering a Trust in a tax haven. His charge is based on documents with regard to the creation of the trust. The statement indicates that the trust was formed on 26th July, 2005.
There are two important circumstances. In July, 2005, some members of this family held very powerful positions. Additionally, the documents indicating payments abroad during this period have even surfaced in the past. Dr. Swami’s statement is not a vague allegation. It gives details of the trust of which there are Indian beneficiaries. It also refers to details of certain accounts.
Obviously, nobody expects during election time, the family to admit that it has parked illegal funds in Tax Havens. But is it enough to say that the allegation is baseless and malicious? The specific details need to be answered. It is for the government of India through its agencies to issue a letter rogatry to competent authorities outside asking for details. It is only then that these details can either be confirmed or contradicted. Are the persons named in the Dr. Swami’s statement willing to waive off all legal rights in favour of the government agencies, asking the government to come out with confirmation or denial?
The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association:
Mr. Virbhadra Singh has become the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh several times. In his last two tenures, I do not recollect a single positive contribution that he has made to the State. He seems to have a special dislike for Cricket and for the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association. The most of the energies of the government are spent only in either enacting laws to capture the Cricket Association, taking over the Dharamshala Cricket Stadium or prosecuting those involved in the construction of India’s most beautiful cricket stadium. The Chief Minister has not learnt basic lesson; the more vindictive you are, the more unpopular you will become.
Posted on 09 April, 2014, No Comments Comments admin
The Jewellery Trade:
During the last two days, a large number of people associated with the jewellery manufacturing business have met me. Amritsar has been a critical market for jewellery manufacturers. There are thousands and thousands of those involved in gold trade and as traders and goldsmiths. The curbs on import of gold has hit them badly. Most of them are today virtually jobless.
The Central Government contends that the current account deficit has reached staggering 78 billion dollars last year. The foreign exchange expenditure of India has become more than the foreign exchange earnings. The adverse CAD had upset the parity between rupee and dollar. In order to prevent the outflow of dollars the government curbed gold imports by substantially hiking the import duties.
Today because of the dollar becoming more expensive, export earnings have risen. The current account deficit has substantially reduced. Millions of goldsmiths in the country cannot continue to be indefinitely underemployed or unemployed. It is too late for them to change their careers.
Has the time come for the government to review the curbs on gold imports and withdraw the high import duties to enable gold imports and end the crisis being caused to the goldsmith community?
The Congress Coffers
The Congress Party’s claim is that it has no money. Report in “The Times of India” today suggests that the Congress Party is claiming that it has inadequate resources to fight the Lok Sabha elections. It is not getting enough support from the conventional donors. I do not know whether this is true, but assuming it to be so, the Congress Party should introspect why such situation has arisen.
The Congress Party has run one of the most corrupt governments in the history. For ten years, its Ministers extorted money. The extortionists are today unwilling to dig in to the large resources they had collected. They have lost the will to fight. Why waste your resources in a losing battle?
The BJP had started ‘One Vote One Note’ campaign months before the elections were announced both on-line and off-line. We succeeded in collecting small donations from crores of people. Additionally, we approached conventional donors. There is a lesson for the Congress to learn- those who rely on extortion for collecting funds don’t get voluntary donations at the time of elections.